Syria in Past 24 Hours:

Terrorists Continue Targeting Army in Demilitarized Zone

Rasa - Terrorist groups have not withdrawn from the demilitarized zone yet, a media outlet said on Monday, adding that the groups have continued launching missile attacks on the Syrian Army positions.

News ID: 441276

Date: 31 October 2018 - 10:25

RNA - Terrorist groups have not withdrawn from the demilitarized zone yet, a media outlet said on Monday, adding that the groups have continued launching missile attacks on the Syrian Army positions.

Hama

Syria's state-run al-Watan daily reported that the terrorists, deployed in the town of al-Latamina in Northern Hama, launched missile attack on the small town of al-Safsafiyah in Northwestern Hama for the second day in a row.

It further said that the army gave crushing response to the terrorists' attacks and pounded their positions in al-Latamina, Lahaya, Morek and al-Aziziyah in Northwestern Hama and in the small tow of Skeik in Southern Idlib, inflicting several casualties on them and destroying their arms and ammunition.

The daily went on to say that other terrorists, deployed in Western Aleppo, launched missile attacks on residential areas in al-Forqan neighborhood in Aleppo city, injuring a civilian and causing material damage on people's properties.

In the meantime, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that terrorists are still positioned in the demilitarized zone that stretches from Northeastern Lattakia to Northern Hama, Southern and Western Idlib and Western Aleppo, as specified in the Sochi Agreement.

Also in the past 24 hours, the jihadist rebels in Northwestern Syria have yet to withdraw their forces from the designated demilitarized zones in the Aleppo, Idlib, Hama and Lattakia provinces, a source from the Syrian Army said.

According to the military source, the Turkish-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) and jihadist-led Tahrir Al-Sham Hay’at terrorists are still active at several fronts in Northwestern Syria, despite the Sochi Agreement’s attempt to defuse the chaos around Idlib province, the AMN reported.

The military source said that the Turkish-backed rebels and jihadists moved some weapons from the demilitarized zone before the October 15th withdrawal deadline; however, most of the groups maintained their positions along the vast front-lines in Northwestern Syria.

Despite claims from the Turkish regime on the progress of the Sochi Agreement, it appears that nothing has really changed in regards to the front-lines in Northwestern Syria.

The Syrian military source added that the jihadist rebels have taken advantage of the agreement by digging new trenches and establishing new posts near the army’s front-lines.

Since the announcement of the Sochi Agreement on September 17th, the Syrian military and opposition forces have clashed almost everyday along the designated demilitarized zones.

It appears neither side will halt the hostilities in the demilitarized zones until they are forced to adhere to the ceasefire by the Turkish and Russian forces in Northwestern Syria.

Sweida

The Syrian Army started fresh operation against ISIL in the Eastern desert of Sweida on Monday after attempts to persuade the terrorists to surrender to the government forces failed.

The army units resumed a fresh round of heavy attacks on ISIL positions in Toloul al-Safa rugged terrain in the Eastern desert of Sweida after terrorists expressed their defiance to surrender to the government forces.

In the meantime, the country's Air Force bombed heavily ISIL's strongholds in the depth of Toloul al-Safa as army's artillery and missile units pounded the same region, both inflicting major losses on the terrorists.

The army had halted military operation in Sweida desert to give a chance to the ISIL to lay down arms and surrender.

Deir Ezzur

Local sources in Eastern Syria disclosed on Monday that the US forces' backup for ISIL has enabled the terrorists to recapture the entire lands they had lost to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Eastern Deir Ezzur in the last 2 months.

The Arabic-language website of RT quoted the sources as disclosing that in complete absence of the US-led coalition forces to support the Washington-backed SDF to counter ISIL's heavy offensive, the terrorists managed to recapture the small but key towns of al-Sousah and al-Baqouz in Southeastern Deir Ezzur.

It pointed to ISIL's control over al-Baqouz Foqani, and said that ISIL has in the last two days recaptured all the territory it had lost to the SDF in past one and a half months.

The Arabic RT said that fierce clashes are now underway between the ISIL and the Iraqi popular forces of Hashd al-Shaabi at Syria-Iraq border after al-Baqouz fell to the terrorists.

In the meantime, Syria's state-run al-Watan daily quoted experts as stating that ISIL's victory against the SDF and their advances in Southeastern Deir Ezzur and their access to the Iraqi border came through the US cooperation as American military left the Kurdish militia alone in battles against ISIL in the last two days.

The coalition fighter jets did not provide support for the SDF after they came under attack by the ISIL. The US forces have also retreated from a base near the town of Hajin.

Also in the past 24 hours, over a dozen civilians have been killed in the US-led coalition airstrike in Southeastern Deir Ezzur in the last 24 hours, SOHR reported.

SOHR reported that a sum of 14 civilians have been killed in the fighter jets' bombing raids on residential areas in Southeastern Deir Ezzur in the last 24 hours.

In the meantime, local sources reported that the warplanes targeted the small town of al-Shafa'a on the Eastern banks of the Euphrates River, killing and wounding a number of civilians.

Raqqa

The dead bodies of over a dozen civilians killed in the US airstrikes on Raqqa were unearthed one year after Washington and its affiliated militants occupied the city, local sources reported on Monday.

The sources said that the Raqqa civil team has found a sum of 13 corpses of the US air raids victims, including women and children, from under debris of ruined buildings in Panorama neighborhood.

The sources further said that bodies of 3 more civilians were also unearthed from ruined buildings in al-Thakana neighborhood in Raqqa.

One year after occupation of Raqqa, mass graves of victims of the US raids and attacks by the ISIL terrorists and the Syrian Democratic Forces are being found regularly in the city.

Also on Monday, head of the Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) Muhammad Nazeer Awad said that the terrorists have stolen more than 4,500 artifacts from a museum in the Syrian city of Raqqa.

Awad pointed out that the DGAM had lists of all pieces currently being shown in Syria's museums, Sputnik reported.

"For example, more than 4,500 showpieces have been stolen from the museum in Raqqa," Awad said.

He pointed out that the directorate had no clear information about the situation in the museum in Idlib as the city was not controlled by government forces.

"That is why it [the museum] is regarded as looted," Awad said.

He called the situations with the museums of Raqqa and Idlib catastrophic, adding that some artifacts had also been stolen from museums in the cities of Homs, Palmyra, Dara'a and Bosra.

According to Awad, the lists of pieces stolen from museums in Bosra and Dara'a had not been completed yet because both settlements had only recently been liberated from terrorists.

The official added that terrorists had also stolen 250-270 "small" artifacts from the ancient city of Palmyra.

Awad noted that it was impossible to assess the scale of the cultural heritage, which was stolen in Syria. The official said that the DGAM had created a special department for returning antiquities.

"The experts, who are heading it [the department], are monitoring the Syrian antiquities that emerge in various parts of the world," he added.

Aleppo

Turkey, which has been disappointed at the implementation of the Manbij agreement, has ordered affiliated militant groups in Northern Syria to be prepared for battle against Kurdish militias in Eastern Euphrates, media sources reported.

The Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper quoted sources close to the National Liberation Front (NFL) terrorist group as saying on Monday that while implementation of the Sochi agreement to create a demilitarized zone in Northern Syria has come to a halt, Ankara has ordered its allied militants in Idlib and Northern and Western Aleppo to get ready for a major assault on the Kurds in Northern Syria.

It added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has grown disappointed at Washington's promises on the Manbij agreement, and Ankara has now decided to engage in clashes with the Kurds in Eastern Euphrates.

Meantime, local and Kurdish sources in Ein al-Arab (Kobani) in Eastern Euphrates reported that Turkey intends to gain full control over the region to later advance to other regions controlled by the Kurds in Eastern Euphrates.

Idlib

A number of prisoners have escaped from a jail run by Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) terrorists in Idlib province, An Arab media outlet reported on Monday.

According to Fars News Agency, the Arabic-language Al-Manar TV Channel reported that almost 40 inmates have escaped from a Tahrir al-Sham jail in Southern Idlib, adding that Ahmad Mohammad al-Qazi, a commander of Ahrar al-Sham, was one of the inmates that escaped.

It further said that Tahrir al-Sham kept forces on alert after the prison break and sent several teams of militants to the small town of Kafr al-Batikh to hunt down al-Qazi.

In the meantime, Tahrir al-Sham members engaged in heavy fighting with Ahrar al-Jabal rival terrorists affiliated to the National Liberation Front in the village of Baftamoun in al-Rowj Plain in Southwestern Idlib, al-Manar added.

The incident came after differences between the two rival groups over setting up a checkpoint in the region, the Channel reported, adding that several gunmen from both warring sides were injured in clashes.

Quneitra

The Syrian army discovered a large volume of US and Israeli arms, ammunition and medicines in clean-up operation in the newly-freed Quneitra province on Saturday.

The army's engineering units carried out clean-up operations in the villages of Bariqah, Ba'ar Ajam, Rasm Sanad in Southern and Western Quneitra province and found a large volume of arms and ammunitions and other military equipment.

Cannons, mortar launchers, anti-tank missiles, drones, the US-made missiles and Israeli arms and noise-making devices were among the discovered equipment.

A large volume of medicines, ambulances and trucks, mostly manufactured in the western states, were also found in the terrorists' positions in Quneitra province.

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